FBI warns of "alarming" rise in vishing attacks

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 22 Jan 2008 at 12:32

The FBI is warning of an "alarming" in the incidence of vishing attacks, a variation on phishing that attempts to persuade people to give up private information over the phone.

The attacks come in the form of an email, text message or phone call purportedly coming from a bank or card company. The recipient is told their card has been suspended, deactivated, or terminated for security reasons and they are told to call a phone number and re-activate the card. When they make the call, they are asked for the card number.

Some of the vishing emails even go as far as to warn recipients not to provide personal information in order to enhance their air of authenticity.

According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), "some fraudulent emails claim the bank would never contact customers to obtain their personally identifiable information by any means, including e-mail, mail, and instant messenger. These emails further warn recipients not to provide sensitive information when requested in an email and not to click on embedded links, claiming they could contain 'malicious software aimed at capturing login credentials'."

Variations on vishing include the sending of text messages to cell phones claiming the recipient's online bank account has expired and instructing them to renew the account via a supplied link.